vintage Hagstom II guitar opinions sought

zulu

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Somebody has offered me a Hagstrom II in trade for studio time. It's in pretty good shape with an original case, except a couple of the switches need to be replaced. It's a sunburst with that funky Hagstrom vibrato bridge. They seem to be valued on the 'bay between 400-700 or so.

Any opinions on the tone, playability, value, replacement switches, etc. would be appreciated. Anybody here have one of these?

Thanks!
 

alpep

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it may be a stretch to get that much. the market has tanked on many guitars.
very think necks. I think the pickups sound rather thin.
switches should be same as mustang switchcraft ones but I am not positive.
they may be difficult to locate. if I remember they are 2 way I have some of the mustang 3 way
 

wileypickett

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I prefer 'em to Fenders -- total workhorse guitars.

Because of Hagstrom's "I" beam shaped truss rod, the necks on these are the skinniest on the planet, yet are almost never found warped or twisted.

The electronics are often noisy, but a few spritzes of TV tube cleaner, available at any Radio Shack, will generally take care of the problem.

NOTE: I prefer Hagstrom IIIs to IIs, as my favorite pickup position on these is the neck and middle pickup, an option not available on the II, which has no middle pickup, just neck and bridge. But you should fool around with it and see what sounds best to you.

Resale (on eBay) in good condition is around $400.00, give or take. Search the completed auctions to get a better idea.

Glenn Jones
Cambridge, MA
 

zulu

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Thanks for the insight guys. I've been charging this fellow $20/hr to run his recording setup for him, so I might think about offering him 15 hours of time for the guitar.
 

zulu

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Well, got it, put it together. Needs some work: replace two switches and the volume pot.
Right now, with the dead switches, I can only get the bridge pickup working. Nice quirky thin sound. Nice little neck. Nice and quiet (no single coil buzz like my strat) A cool old guitar, glad I got it. :)

Tough search for serial numbers/dating, but I think I've got it narrowed down to between '65 and '70.

DSCF3038.jpg
 

fronobulax

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With all those switches it look like a toy.

Zulu - if your studio is like an airline - if you don't sell the seat when it is time to fly you lose revenue - seems to me like almost any trade would be worth it unless you had a ca$h customer for the time.
 

zulu

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I agree, frono. I know this guy is strapped for cash, like many people these days. He's a building contractor who's been hit hard by the recession. I've already scored a Yamaha mixer, now this guitar in trade for studio time. He's got a CD of his songs, I've got another guitar hanging on the wall, :D :D
 

wileypickett

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Congrats!

Looks in great shape -- nice!

BTW, I have the Hagstrom blue book, so if you send me the serial number (on the neck plate on the back of the guitar), I can tell you exactly when it was made.

In terms of sounding thin, that's surely down to the fact that only one pickup is working (especially if that one is the bridge pickup).

But once you get both working, I recommend running the guitar through one of those adjustable Boss Equalizer pedals. I set my tabs on the EQ to a "V" shape, boost the hell out of the low end, and it sounds fantastic!

I got my first Hagstrom at a pawnshop, intended it as a second guitar to my Fender Strat. Since I play only in open tunings, having a second guitar saved me a lot of retuning onstage. Within a couple months the Strat was my second guitar! (For solid-bodies, the Hagstrom is my favorite ever.)

And, BTW, there's Guild content here, as Guild imported Hagtrom's bridges for their own electric guitars in the '60s and '70s.

Glenn//.
 

zulu

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wileypickett said:
Congrats!

Looks in great shape -- nice!

BTW, I have the Hagstrom blue book, so if you send me the serial number (on the neck plate on the back of the guitar), I can tell you exactly when it was made.

In terms of sounding thin, that's surely down to the fact that only one pickup is working (especially if that one is the bridge pickup).

But once you get both working, I recommend running the guitar through one of those adjustable Boss Equalizer pedals. I set my tabs on the EQ to a "V" shape, boost the hell out of the low end, and it sounds fantastic!

I got my first Hagstrom at a pawnshop, intended it as a second guitar to my Fender Strat. Since I play only in open tunings, having a second guitar saved me a lot of retuning onstage. Within a couple months the Strat was my second guitar! (For solid-bodies, the Hagstrom is my favorite ever.)

And, BTW, there's Guild content here, as Guild imported Hagtrom's bridges for their own electric guitars in the '60s and '70s.

Glenn//.

Thanks for the reply Glenn! Glad to have a someone "Hagsperienced". I'd love to know the actual year of manufacture. The serial number is 655548.

I can also confirm that I've only got the bridge pickup working until I can get those two switches replaced. The bridge itself, well at least the saddles, are just like the ones on the '60 Starfire I had.

The guitar has a nice little neck, and set up real nice on my first try with low action and good intonation.

The tremolo bar works well, but has a little washer with two pointed tabs that point down toward the body. I don't think it's assembled quite right as that washer flops around a bit and the tabs don't seem to have anywhere to go. The washer can also cause the trem to bind if it wiggles into an angled position.

A work in progress, but I've enjoyed the guitar so far. :D Thanks again!
 
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